


too sunny a day

by sweetiejelly



Category: As the World Turns
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Different First Meeting, Elephants, M/M, Mistaken Identity, Photography
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-14
Updated: 2019-06-14
Packaged: 2020-05-07 13:32:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,205
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19210450
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sweetiejelly/pseuds/sweetiejelly
Summary: Either way, wow, it's too sunny a day to be crushing on a dad.Or, Luke and Noah meet at the zoo, in front of a baby elephant, on a sunny, sunny day.





	too sunny a day

**Author's Note:**

  * For [ladysonsie](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ladysonsie/gifts).



> Written for the lovely ladysonsie's birthday. (I know it's not quiiiite your birthday yet where you are but it is where I am so it totally counts, right?) This is pretty short (although it's longer than I thought it would be!) because work has been biting into my hours pretty hard lately. And it's been super long since I've written our boys too, but I hope this is okay! Mostly though, I just wanted to celebrate you and your beautiful light. I love that you love elephants and charity and kindness (and many more awesome things to be celebrated). Happy, happy birthday, Steph! ♥

The first camera his aunt Ruth brought for him, Noah treasured like no other. The things he saw! That he could sample the big, wide world one little rectangle at a time, to treasure like a bite of baci chocolate with all its layers - the protective outer, the sweet inner, and all that surprise crunchiness in between - Noah clicked and clicked and clicked, lost in the frames of life.

It's been years since his first camera. His current one is bigger now, its lens humongous. Still, his joy remains the same, the same immense, intense. How can it _not_ be when he gets to look, to see, to capture all the colors, all the different ways the world finds to carry on, to breathe, to be?

Today it's elephants. More specifically, it's the introduction of a baby elephant at the zoo. Noah's zoomed in for the most HD of all HD images. Earlier, he caught the bright corner of a smile, the brave lean of a wobble, the beautiful, confident fan of an ear. He's working his way up and around to the eyes. The eyes get him. The eyes of his subjects always do. They say so much without a sound.

Noah falls in love at the first bat of eyelashes. He clicks, then gasps and puts down his camera. A breath. He needs a breath is all.

Only, the universe is against him today.

A kind laugh sounds next to him. Noah turns his head and sees this gorgeous guy with this gorgeous smile staring at him. "She's beautiful, isn't she?"

"Huh?" Noah mentally slaps himself. _Smooth._

"Baby Queenie there," Mr. Gorgeous points. "She's beautiful, huh?"

 _Gorgeous_ , Noah thinks, taking in the way this stranger radiates _lovely_ just talking. He looks like a talker, a sweet talker and an earnest talker both. But wow, this is a long time to stare at someone without saying a word. "I- yes."

"You're cute."

"Excuse me?" His voice goes up an octave, yanked up by nerves.

"To her." Gorgeous blond winks at him and leans in all conspiratory-like.

"Doubt it." Noah brings up an arm and rubs the back of his neck. He likes looking at the world but being seen, being seen for this long, still makes him squirm. At first, he was afraid they'd find out his secret. And then he was afraid they'd judge him, box him in the gay box and throw away the rest of him - the sides that love movies, love dogs, love camping.

"Hey, you never know." Talker dude shrugs and hoist a little boy (that Noah's just now noticed) up over his shoulders. "Ethan, what do you think?" In a mock whisper, he continues, "Ethan here is an expert on elephants."

Ethan giggles and nods. "Yeah!"

Noah's not sure if Ethan's saying he's an expert or if he's saying elephants think he's cute. Either way, wow, it's too sunny a day to be crushing on a dad.

"I bet she'd sooner think your son's cute."

"Luke's my brother!" Ethan kicks out his feet. "Holden's our dad."

"Oh." Is it too sunny a day to be crushing on a Luke? Noah sneaks a look and Luke's still grinning, still there, still kind. "You do look…young." He cringes at himself. Honestly, of all the compliments in the world! "I mean you- you look good. Not that- not that dads can't look good!"

Luke arches an eyebrow at him, all tease, and Noah feels his face flame. "I mean...elephants are cute?"

Luke burst out laughing. "Elephants _are_ cute. But it's a hot day and the shade's moved. If you're not busy, you want to grab a cup of coffee with us?"

"Coffee, not icee?"

"I don't hear a no." Luke's already walking backwards, holding onto Ethan's legs and laying down a fork in the road in Noah's life. "What do you say, Noah?"

"How do you-?"

"Ah, I guessed right! Your bag." Luke jerks his chin at it, at where Noah's pinned the two gay lions from the Noah's ark story.

Noah looks back at Queenie and could swear she nods her head at him and gives him a thumbs up with her trunk.

Noah breathes and looks ahead. There's no forking way he's ignoring all the signs from the universe, much less from Queenie.

"We can probably find both coffee and icee." He chances a smile Luke's way.

The smile he gets back might as well be the sun. "Let's go!"

~~

Five years later, Luke follows a string of pictures and retraces the first day he met Noah - from Queenie's toes all the way up to Queenie's eyes, to Ethan and Luke squeezed into a booth drinking their respective drinks, to a snap of Noah's phone where Luke's number shines bright and new. 

The last picture is labeled "Queenie today". She stands tall and sure, as playful and beautiful as the day she greeted the world.

Luke looks up at the soft foot fall. "Noah!" He throws himself at his boyfriend and kisses him hello. "What's this special show?"

"Happy anniversary," Noah squeezes him.

Luke beams up. "Happy anniversary, baby."

Noah ducks his head like Luke hasn't called him stronger words. It's so ducking cute. "I went to the zoo today to take this picture. I wanted to - I know it hasn't been easy us getting to here, to _this_ \- and I wanted to document that on film, of our growth, of Queenie's growth."

"Well, hey, she _is_ our baby." For Luke's first birthday after they met, Noah sponsored Queenie, and Luke fell harder in love.

He's still falling. Every day. Except it's more like soaring. And they're still sponsoring Queenie to this day.

Noah take a breath, like he's pep-talking himself, and then he kneels down on one knee and looks up with the most earnest eyes. "Luke, we met each other and Queenie on a lucky, sunny day. I fell in love twice that day - first with her and then you. I- I want to sponsor Queenie for life because I can't imagine _not_. It's just a lifelong bond we've got, you know? And I- I'd like a chance at a lifelong bond with you, too. Will you marry me?"

"You left out 'I love you'!" Ethan helpfully yells from his hiding spot.

Luke snorts. Brothers! He helps Noah up from the floor and cradles his face. "I love you, Noah."

"Same here, Luke. I love you, too." Noah nuzzles into him the way he always does, closing his eyes and basking, trusting, taking Luke's breath away.

"But tell me you haven't gotten rings, because _I_ got us rings I really like them. They even have little elephants carved in the band. And our initials! And a tie!"

At the mention of a tie, the instrument that pushed them to their first kiss, Noah leans in and closes the distance between them. And Luke loses himself in the warm brush of lips, of home-love-joy all mashed together, of _Noah_.

"You didn't say yes!" Ethan interjects again.

"Oh my god, yes!" Luke explodes back because ugh, _brothers_! But Noah just laughs and leans his forehead against Luke's and says yes too. And all's right in the world.

**Author's Note:**

> So, I saw this: <https://positive-memes.tumblr.com/post/185560886370/elephants-are-breathtaking> which made me think of you. 
> 
> And then I thought is that real though? And unfortunately maybe it's not? <https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/elephants-think-humans-cute/>
> 
> Still! Who knows what any being thinks, right? It could be true for some elephant out there and Noah (and Luke & Ethan!) are all darn cute, so there. lol! 
> 
> Also, I saw this which made my day so yay, gay lions & also that's where the "gay lions" reference is from in the fic! :) <https://twitter.com/meakoopa/status/1138284840120389633>


End file.
